A Philadelphia shipyard owned by a South Korean industrial conglomerate said it has been awarded its first U.S. Navy contract.
Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) and Hanwha Philly Shipyard will serve as a design subcontractor to Norwegian shipbuilder Vard Group’s U.S. division on the Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) program, for vessels that resupply Navy ships at sea.
It’s the first Navy contract awarded to Hanwha (012450.KS) since it acquired the Philly Shipyard in 2024. The company said that it has spent more than $200 million on workforce and capacity upgrades, of a total planned investment of $5 billion it announced in 2025.
Hanwha Shipping’s U.S. unit has ordered 10 Jones Act oil and chemical tankers from the Philadelphia yard. That includes two liquefied natural gas carriers – the first to be constructed in the U.S. in almost 50 years.
Seoul earlier pledged $150 billion investment in the U.S. maritime sector.
The value of the Hanwha contract was not disclosed. The Vard contract is worth $4.5 million.
Hanwha will partner with Vard on market survey, concept design and refinement for the new NGLS light replenishment oiler, conceived as a floating supply chain to resupply, refuel and rearm with smaller but more numerous ships than in the past. The platform will also utilize available, proven technologies instead of designing from scratch.
The Hanwha contract extends to manufacturability support, commercial construction practices, and evaluation of production costs.
“Hanwha is proud to partner with Vard in the design and integration of the Next Generation Logistics Ship for the U.S. Navy,” said Hanwha Defense USA President of Shipbuilding Tom Anderson, in a statement. “This award represents an important step in our ability to leverage our world-class shipbuilding expertise in building the ships the Navy needs to support our servicemembers deployed in contested maritime domains.”
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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